July 24, 2008

There are so few perfect moments in this life – and rarely do we have the time to stop and fully appreciate one when we’re in the middle of it.

There’s the marriage proposal – it’s magical, except for your heart pounding in your ears and the screaming refrain in your head of “ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!!”

There’s your wedding day, which (as any married woman knows) is planned to death but ends up being a complete blur in the end.

There’s the birth of your child, during which hormones do funny things to your mind even if drugs do not.

But there’s one completely perfect moment that happens to me every single day, and I am eternally grateful that I have realized it now, before it’s too late. It’s that few minutes every night when I rock my baby to sleep.

After she’s in her pajamas, I turn out the bedroom lights (leaving on the bathroom light, so I can see) and sit down in the rocking chair to nurse her…during which we talk about her day (nothing too in-depth, just a recap) and I sing her bedtime songs – Rock-A-Bye and Baby Mine. Thankfully, she hasn’t yet learned that her mommy couldn’t carry a tune if it had handles. Then, once she’s had her fill, she sits up and I scoot her up onto my shoulder.

We rock, I pat, she snuggles in. She rubs her smooth, soft cheek against mine, and I rest my chin on her little shoulder. I revel in the sweet baby smell of her skin, her hair, her clothes. I remember when it was her sister that I rocked in that same chair – four and a half years ago, that feels like just yesterday. And I know that soon – too soon – my baby will be just as big, just as smart and just as independent. And that I’ll have no one left to rock to sleep.

So I enjoy it immensely, while I can. Whatever else needs to be done before bed can wait – the dishes aren’t going anywhere, the Tivo is recording any “can’t miss” TV, and truth be told, there’s nothing that I’d rather see than cuddle my baby anyway. Nothing that I want to do that I won’t have plenty of time for later, when she doesn’t need me as much. Nothing that could possibly rival this precious, fleeting moment with my sweet baby girl.

I have been blessed with the privilege of cuddling this child every night, and I intend to take full advantage of it – for as long as she’ll allow it.